What is Cognitive Hypnotherapy?
Cognitive Hypnotherapy is a person-centred, evidence-based* approach to therapy, using a combination of tools and techniques to work with clients towards change. Taking learnings from Evolutionary Psychology, Positive Psychology, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Gestalt, Hypnosis and Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) to inform this modern approach to therapy.
A study published by the Mental Health Review Journal in 2015 (1) looked to assess the efficacy of Cognitive Hypnotherapy compared to other interventions, such as CBT. QCH therapists assessed clients with anxiety and depression using the same outcome measures currently used to assess the effectiveness of talking therapies within the NHS. For the treatment of anxiety and depression, 71% of the participants in the study considered themselves recovered, versus 42% of those using other approaches after an average of 4 sessions.
To our knowledge, this is the only hypnotherapy approach to have been validated in this way.
(1) https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/MHRJ-08-2014-0030/full/html
What do we mean by Hypnotherapy?
This framework differs from more traditional hypnotherapy, operating with the understanding that we move in and out of ‘trance’ multiple times a day. If you think of activities such as day dreaming or being on auto-pilot, these are states where you are physically present but your mind is somewhere else. The goal in cognitive hypnotherapy is to regain control during these moments or have increased objectivity or positivity on moments when trance occurs.
The unconscious has a role to play here, the part of us that is not visible to the eye but that influences our judgments, feelings and behaviours. Cognitive Hypnotherapy believes that all behaviour has a positive intention and unconscious behaviour is no different. Our behaviours tend to move us towards the things that bring us pleasure and away from things that cause pain, this often means our unconscious aiding us to avoid the root cause of our unhelpful actions, or even feeding into them.
You can find out more in the video below.